Good Kid
by lezonne
Summary: Draco always knew he would have to marry Astoria, he just never knew it would happen at such a bad time. Now he has to try to keep his parents happy, comfort her, and avoid getting killed by Voldemort? Get real. Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition Season 2 Round 1.


**A/n:** Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition season 2. Prompts numbers 4,11 and 13. Enjoy!

As a Pureblood you are held to the highest authority in Voldemort's rankings, overshadowing better duelists but dirtier blood. You're at the frontline of fire, the first to receive punishment if a plan doesn't go as intended. It's a dangerous life to lead, even if your parents believe that future rewards will be worth all the trouble.

At one point in time I believed them, now I just think they are silly. Voldemort's been fighting this battle for ages now, dragging more and more people into the upcoming war. My father expects me to hold my head high, not blink an eye when I'm expected to kill, and always speak well of my _Lord_.

I never thought a pure society would be built by a dictator. Maybe an allegiance, but not a dictator. If Voldemort has his way he'll be killing Pureblood's next once everyone else is out of the way.

"Draco," Astoria hisses nervously, tapping my hand quickly to bring my back to reality. "He's coming."

Yes, Astoria, my wife to be. There's nothing wrong with her, I've known her for years. But Astoria is a scared little thing, protected by her parents throughout her childhood and spoiled in piles of money. In many ways she's the female likelihood of me, except for one major flaw.

Astoria is the second child, the baby of her family. I'm the only child, and I've received the blunt of everything that's come my way. Daphne is the same in many ways, but some of the blows sometimes fall to Astoria. Expectations were split between the pair, and the stress put on a family by Voldemort was divided more evenly amongst the Greengrass' than my own family. I must say I'm a tad jealous.

Let's be real a moment, Astoria and I are a thing of the past. I failed my mission to kill Dumbledore last year, and Astoria barely knows how to defend herself. Pampering and goofing off in the back of class for years has made her next to useless. With the upcoming war she's possibly more afraid than I am.

Voldemort stops by father first, hissing out several crude words and remarks about the latest failed attack. Many of the order members died, yes, but so did people from our side. That always puts him on edge, and when his wand is unsheathed Astoria's gripping my hand again behind the fortress of people in front of us, bottling up her fear behind her tightly pressed lips.

As he moves on I can barely glance at my father, a man now lying on the floor in pain. It's not that I can't tolerate Lucius personally, but more so what he expects me to become. When I marry I am supposed to become just like him, a groveling lunatic who fights for a place next to a madman. I'm not sure it's something I can do.

I catch a glance at the world outside when Voldemort moves on to speak to his pet Bellatrix, and I intake a sharp breath. Beyond the darkness out there lies a chance at freedom, an escape from the life my father wants me to lead. The only thing standing in the way is an entire army of Death Eaters who would kill without thought if it appeared that I am a traitor.

Freedom is a far-fetched idea. I have a sinking feeling that I will end up just like my father.

* * *

"They expect us tonight," she says nervously, flipping through dress after dress. "The Dark Lord, he wants an audience with us, partaking in another Death Eater meeting."

"It's nothing to be excited about Astoria," I reply, fiddling with my wand. "You should be more afraid than anything."

She stops moving for just a moment, then turns to glance at me. "You should be fearful if you aren't excited. If the Dark Lord picks up on your mood it could spell bad things."

"Everything is bad here," I grunt, shaking my head. "We're going to get ourselves killed trying to live up to our parents expectations."

"Draco, that's not the way to look at things. We have to do this- we have to attend and pretend that we like it." She turns to me now, dropping her voice as she moves toward the bed. "We've been together in this set-up for a while now and people are going to start expecting… _things_ from us. We at least have to play the part."

"If we're caught in a lie we'll be in just as much trouble. Just because you're going to be my wife soon doesn't mean he would be any gentler on you if you make him mad during the meeting."

She huffs. "You don't have to tell me that Draco, I know the dangers. And they are even higher for you. We just have to play it safe. If we leave a good impression on our parents maybe the Dark Lord will not be so harsh on us."

"You're dreaming Astoria. We make one wrong move and we'll both be receiving a crucio later. He's been in a bad mood since the failed mission. He's going to want to deal out as many curses as he can."

Her expression softens then, and her hands move to wrap around her knees as she sits down on the bed beside me. That nervous expression is back on her face again, the kind that will get her hexed at the meeting. Covering up her concerns is not something Astoria excels at.

"Relax your face. He'll get on you if he senses uncertainty and fear. Never show fear."

"Because you never do?" she asks, her voice getting snippy. "You might be trying to help me Draco but it won't work. He just makes me nervous."

I sigh this time, glancing around the room. It's times like these that I'm glad that we share a room together, even if it once was my personal quarters. The room has a silencing spell around it, a powerful one, and at least I know no one is listening in.

I hope.

"e just es of money. In many was one is listening in.

was my personal quarters. The room has a silencing spell around it, a poweWe just have to get through tonight," I whisper, leaning back to rest my head against the pillow. "It doesn't matter what you wear for he certainly won't care, and everyone else in the room will focus on what he has to say. Do not dress up for this occasion Astoria, or even bother to. It won't do any good."

She sighs again but I don't open my eyes. I know she's looking for a cover up within those outfits, searching for something that can protect her from the curses that will more than likely get thrown around the room tonight. But Voldemort does not pity a soul, and nothing she wears will make her blend into the darkness.

I'm taking away her sense of security by being real with her. In many ways I feel like a jerk, but I cannot make myself say anything comforting to her. Words won't offer up the comfort that she needs.

* * *

"He didn't even look my way," she whispers, lying on the bed as I mend the cuts on her torso. I've been hit by such a spell many times before, and while a healer would be better suited to work on this damage there isn't one available anywhere around here.

"He didn't even care."

She's been talking like this since we returned, her emotions eating her up more than the physical damage. When Voldemort tried to kill her father for a misdeed she spoke out, and truth be told I thought she would die for it. But no, death is a quick end that he doesn't like to give people. Instead a simple Sectumsempra cut her deep, and her father didn't look her way when she was hit.

She's knows that he didn't look to see if she was okay, didn't even react. I couldn't do anything for her until the meeting was over, else risk being hit as well. And then where would we be?

"He chose to not make the situation worse," I say, trying to comfort her. "Lie still Astoria, don't squirm so much. The pain killers only work if you don't squirm around."

"Don't tell me what to do," she mutters, rolling away from me. A pained cry escapes her lips, the cuts having not yet healed completely. I gently pull her back again, continuing to stitch her back together with magic.

At least it's working. When I first brought her back up here I wasn't sure if it would work at all. She lost quite a bit of blood.

"I'm just trying to help," I groan, leaning away when finished.

"I know," she replies softly. "I know Draco, it just hurts."

"Of course it hurts, you got yourself hexed. I don't think he put his full power into the spell though. If he did, you'd be dead."

"I know," Astoria replies again, closing her eyes. "I don't want to go see him again tomorrow."

"We have to," I say matter-of-factly. "We aren't of any use to him right now. If we disobey orders he's just going to kill us. We have to attend Astoria. This time our parents won't be there, it's a private meeting for just the two of us."

"That's possibly the scariest part of it all," she grumbles, her voice shaking. I reach out and stroke her hair, hoping it offers up some sort of comfort. I honestly don't know what else to do, not until the medicine wears off.

"It'll work out fine," I say, trying to believe my own words. "Our parents won't be there, and we won't have anyone to distract us. We'll get in and get out quickly."

"I hope so." She shakes her head, turning to finally rest it against the palm of my hand. I'm a bit surprised by the contact, as we have not been a very loving couple up until now. We've only done what was absolutely necessary. "I couldn't shame my family anymore."

"You're not shaming your family."

Her eyes blink open, curiously looking up at me. "I spoke out of turn earlier Draco. I should've been killed for it, and likely he would've killed my father too. I'm lucky to even be alive."

"Maybe," I mutter the words of comfort gone. "You spoke up for someone you love Astoria, it just wasn't' a safe time. Your father should be proud that you defended him."

"My father taught me to never speak out against our Lord. He's going to be rather angry that I did. Unless I'm following exactly what Voldemort expects Draco he's never going to be proud of me."

"You'll be fine Astoria. Every family has bad memories. He can place that memory of you as a bad one and move on. He won't base his opinion on you over one courageous action. You attempted to keep your father alive and you succeeded. He should be more proud than displeased."

"You don't know my father Draco."

"And you certainly don't know mine."

Our eyes meet, and she gives me a gentle smile. I'm not the best bloke when it comes to comforting people, but every now and then I do something right. I got her to relax, even for a moment, and I will take that over her fears. If I can ease her mind a little we might be able to get some sleep tonight.

"Come on, we have to sleep," I mutter, sinking down in the bed with her. "We'll never be able to face him tomorrow if we don't rest up tonight."

"Do you think our parents will be proud of us when we return? I have yet to see any of them happy since we final got together to prepare for this marriage."

"It doesn't matter," I say softly, closing my eyes. "Don't worry for tonight. It won't do any good. Just try to sleep. Tomorrow will bring a new set of problems."

* * *

We survived, but that's all I can say on the matter. A few quick Crucio spells had the both of us answering any questions we could. Voldemort got the answers he wanted in a short amount of time, which of course made him all the happier. He left without too many marks on our skin.

Astoria's still worrying as she often does. At the meeting later that night with the entire Death Eater fleet in attendance my father stands beside me for the first time in forever.

I glance up at him, Astoria inching closer. He gives me a short nod before the meeting begins the first sign of true acknowledgement that I haven't disappointed him in weeks.

I almost smirk- almost. It's nice to get recognition sometimes. e just es of money. In many was one is listening in.

was my personal quarters. The room has a silencing spell around it, a powe


End file.
